St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-31

ners of the room. The next day is spent
much as we do Sunday, with high mass at
all of the churches.
After church the families have as good a
| dinner as their means will allow, and then
they visit among their friends; but 1t is
a subdued cheerfulness, with nothing joy
Gus about it. There is no giving of presents
at all at Christmas-the whole resolves itself
into religious ceremony, which has nothing
about it of the tenderness and beauty of our
Christmas day. 1t is more OF a marvellous
revelation of divinity, something awesome
and worshipful. The Armenian Catholics,
and even all the other mem bers of the CathO-
lie churches in Turkey, do not make of
Christmas day of feasting or gayety, but
regard it, as do the others, with sombre
solemnity; so that Christmas in that
country is very distressing, particularly to a
homesck foreigner.
New Years, however is quite another
thing. This is the day of rejoicing and
giving of presents, and in fact takes the place
of our Christmas. The Greeks and all mem
bers of that church watch the old year out
and the new one in as we do, and when day
dawns the head of the family must enter his
home and break po1negranate on the floor
the first thing, which will insure unalloyed
happiness to his family all the year. The
HlSllJ DtlOTc new cdI DODtuS dlC ClCClC"
for the sale of candies, figs, dates, ralslns,
nuts Of all kinds, pomegranates, and toys
and however poor man is, it is obligatory
on him to take home to his family
as much of these things as he can
buy. Some of these poor people have to
scrape and pinch for long months
toward provision for this great feast Of the
year. The wives make point of giving
presents of something useful made by their
own hands. The most useful present is a
tobacco pouch either crocheted out of gold or
silver thread or embroidered richly The
men never give their wives or children any
presents but money, and this the poorest
gives ali round to his family. Of course the
little, cheap toys do not count, for there are
none but the cOmmOnest and most destruc-
tble kind. The amount given to each
necessarily depends upon the means OF the
man, but the money he gives his children is
to be put into little earthen pot which is
their bank, and is kept always, SO that by the
time they are grown there Is quite little
sum.
Among the wealthier classes of all the
Greeks and Bulgarians the gentlemen pay
calls on their lady friends, but they never go
empty-handed, and when they take their
leave they find all the servants of the family
drawn up in line at the door awaiting the
gift of money which is always gwen. The
gifts which the gentlemen are obliged by Gus
tOiu W give Tic wives Vi dll lLelG lIlclluS are
in a measure returned to their wives from
their friends; but it is a very heavy tax on a
mans purse. New Years is emphatically the
ladies' day in that country, and the Gus
tom of giving presents can be traced
back to great antiquity. Three days later
ladies visit each other, but on New Year s
Day none leaves her home.
Refreshments of coffee, Ia turque, are
served with sweetmeats, but no wine or
liquor of any kind. Indeed, no drunken
Greek was ever seen to my knowledge on this
day The sweetmeats, which consist of very
tenacious jelly, favored with the odor of rose
or violet are served in glasses, and with each
tray is another glassful of tiny gold or silver
spoons, and an empty glass. You are ex-
you prefer, swallow this and place the
soiled spoon in the empty glass. On no ac-
count take another spoonful. After this,
coffee Is served, glass of water being taken
between them.
In the evening, after the ceremonious calls
of the day are over, among the Weather
classes and the poorest. the family and
sometimes several families meet for an
evenings innocent fun. An immense cake
has been made the day before, and in it are
placed two small pieces of silver copper or
gold money. The cake is cut into the same
number Of pieces as there are persons present
and each one eats his or her piece, and who
ever of them gets a coin is the king or queen
of the feast, and of all other social gather
ings during the ensuing year. The two are
then crowned with artificial flowers, and
then follow games, some of them very anus
ing and witty, and quite unlike any | have
ever seen in any other country, though some
of them we have closely copied.
One new mirth-provoking game was
played by taking plate and piling it full of
-four in a conical shape and placing small
sfn Of tE.,o NO
edge sticking out little. Then all who
play have their arms tied behind them and
they get down on their knees and stoop for
ward in the effort to take this money out of
the flour with then teeth without touching
their noses in it. Some overbalance and
stick the whole face in. 1t is very difficult
to do and sprovocative of much fun. Every
body enters into the games with spirit from
the oldest to the youngest.
The night before Christmas there are num-
bers of blind men who go about from house
to house, singing song much like the carols
in England and ending by asking aims in
return for blind mans blessing. Some of
them improvise their verses as they 60 along
and make local hits and illusions. which
cause much merriment. They usually have
violins, lutes or guitars and always get
money.
Epiphany is another great ceremony of
the Greek Church, even more solemn and
impressive than that of Christmas Eve. The
people go fasting to church as before and
listen in reverent silence to the service,
which is to commemorate the baptism of
Christ, and they wait for the celestial light
which is simulated by sort of strong retec-
tor. Then each one lights his wax candle,
which every man, woman and child must
have, from light furnished by the church.
Each one brings a paper lantern, and this
light is carefully cherished and taken home
to his dwelling 1t would indicate great
disaster to a household if that light should
go out on the way. AS soon as they reach
home the wife lights little lamp with her
taper, and this lamp is placed before the
small statuette or picture Of the Pdniah,
which decorates the poorest Greek or Bull
garian home. This light must on no account
be allowed to 60 out for seven days.
Just before the lighting of the candles by
the congregation in church, the priests per-
form a ceremony over hogshead of water
and bless it. AS each one files out of church
he takes can or bottle of this holy water
home, and this is carefully preserved to be
used in extreme cases and in sickness during
the following year. On the arrival OF the
family at their home they seat themselves
around a table with nuts and fruit, as at
Christmas Eve, only now each nemust takes a
drop or so of holy water into his or her mouth
before beginning to eat, and they all retire.
to be up early to assist at the great ceremony
Of blessing the water.
There is little village called Arnautkeui,
or rather was, for it was destroyed by fire re-
Gently, situated on point of land at the en-
4rD, %>t no &c ir,f% %Ia-n